Prosecution's Rebuttal Argument - The Proper Limits of the Doctrine of 'Invited Response'

• NCJ Number: 86790
• Journal: Criminal Law Bulletin Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-February 1983) Pages: 5-21
• Author(s): B J Berger
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article deals primarily with the practical and ethical problems associated with the 'invited response' doctrine.

Abstract

The author finds that prosecutors too often unfairly use this doctrine in their rebuttal arguments and go far beyond the scope of defense counsels' closing arguments. Appellate courts, in the author's view, are too lenient with such prosecutors and have not developed a useful analytical approach to these problems. The author sets out his version of the proper analytical framework and gives helpful examples to test that framework in action. (Publisher abstract)